Apex Court to hear Muslim side’s plea against maintainability of suits today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Tuesday a plea of the Muslim side against the Allahabad High Court order rejecting their petition challenging the maintainability of 18 cases related to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute in Mathura.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar will hear the plea filed by the Committee of Management Trust, Shahi Masjid Idgah against the August 1 order of the high court. The mosque management committee’s plea has been filed through advocate RHA Sikander. On August 1, the high court rejected the plea challenging the maintainability of 18 cases related to the temple-mosque dispute in Mathura, and ruled that the “religious character” of Shahi Idgah needs to be determined.

The high court had dismissed the Muslim side’s contention that the suits filed by Hindu litigants relating to the dispute over the Shahi Idgah mosque complex adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple violated the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, and were thus not maintainable.

The 1991 Act prohibits changing the religious character of any shrine from what existed on the day of the country’s Independence. It exempted only the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute from its purview.

The cases filed by the Hindu side seek the “removal” of the Aurangzeb-era mosque they claim was built after demolishing a temple that once stood there. In its ruling, the high court had said the 1991 Act did not define the term “religious character” and the “disputed” place cannot have a dual religious character at the same time. “Either the place is a temple or a mosque. Thus, the religious character of the disputed place as it existed on August 15, 1947 is to be determined by documentary as well as oral evidence,” the judge had said.